This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD. Clinton M. Sandvick worked as a civil litigator in California for over 7 years. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his PhD in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013.
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There are several reasons you might decide to give a vehicle as a gift. Perhaps you are giving it to a family member, such as a child who just received a driver's license. Maybe you are donating it in order to purchase a new vehicle and you do not wish to sell your old one. Either way, the basic step involved in gifting a vehicle is to transfer the title of ownership, but several details might make this task more complex. You need to ensure that you own the vehicle in full. This means there can be no active liens on the vehicle. If you co-own the vehicle with another person, that person must be able to provide a signature as well (except in rare cases, such as death, at which point you might require the assistance of your local Probate Court as well as the executor of the estate of the deceased). Once the title is signed over to the new owner, it must be presented at the Department of Motor Vehicles to complete the title transfer.
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